S.O.T.T: Sarah dreads falling asleep. Moments after she closes her eyes, her body becomes paralysed, and she is unable to move no matter how hard she tries. This has been going on almost every night for three weeks. Sarah has also noticed a dark, ghostly figure standing over her bed from time to time, which seems to be the cause of the paralysis. It's a frightening, agonising experience. Sarah is experiencing a phenomenon called sleep paralysis. Although the condition primarily involves a sense of not being able to move prior to falling asleep, it can also include vivid hallucinations and visions. Sometimes people see a ghost or sense a negative presence in the room during an episode. Others report sleep paralysis as a form of alien abduction or other paranormal activity.
Although Sarah reported disturbing hallucinations, she has not been diagnosed with a mental illness. This is not uncommon in accounts of the paranormal; many have a logical explanation, such as perceptual error. In fact, some researchers estimate only half of paranormal or mystical experiences - such as out-of-body experiences, telepathy, intuition and precognition - are associated with a mental disorder. Paranormal experiences may be very distressing, so it's important people have the opportunity to talk about them. Yet, many psychotherapists and psychiatrists lack adequate training and skills to deal with accounts of the paranormal
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